Overview

Juvenile justice is the area of criminal law applicable to persons who at the time of commission of an offence have not attained the age of 18 years. The main goal of a juvenile justice system is rehabilitation rather than punishment for juvenile criminal behaviour: to avoid the stigmatisation resulting from a criminal conviction and the phenomenon of reoffending.

It is not possible to know the exact number of prisoners, including children, in jails at any given time simply because the number changes daily as some prisoners are released and new ones are brought in. However, in December 2011, there were 1,421 children in Pakistan’s jails. Only 165 of these had been convicted and the remaining 1256 children were still under trial.

SPARC is working to create awareness about the plight and needs of children in conflict with the law, about Pakistan’s juvenile justice system and about the international guidelines and agreements concerning juvenile justice. We train relevant authorities about their responsibilities under the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance 2000 and about child rights. We also work to improve conditions in the juvenile sections of jails and to secure the release of as many children as possible.

Facts at a Glance

Although there are a number of laws and constitutional guarantees for the protection of the rights of children accused or convicted of crimes, in reality they are seldom upheld. Juvenile prisoners, the majority of whom are under trial, are among the worst off in Pakistan. Immediately following arrest and during police remand, children suffer in police custody and are maltreated by the police authorities. They are denied access to legal aid, their relatives, and are not kept separate from adults. While in prison, children are subjected to degrading and inhuman treatment and punishment. Sadly, the juvenile inmates in prisons face problems such as extreme overcrowding, malnutrition, physical, mental and sexual abuse and a lack of medical care. Many times, when convicted, sentences are in flagrant violation of the key principles of juvenile justice i.e. rehabilitation and the primacy of the well being of the child. The prudence behind a juvenile justice system is reformation, exclusively. Any child when he or she comes into conflict with the law, should be treated as such.